Itemnotasdescribed

I would have liked to do better than a MEH with this one. I like a laugh and I generally have a giggle at unintentional photographic humor as provided by colliding police cars, cute kittens in compromising positions and Japanese attempts to be American. This site has found a potentially amusing niche in the many free ads posted online, mainly at Craigslist. People do try and get rid of the most unlikely things, either for profit or for free, and in many cases the authors of these ads and images share the common thread of believing that what they've got on offer must be worth something to somebody. Even if it happens to be a leaky fridge with no doors, or a box of half-empty soy sauce bottles (both actual Craigslist ads). This leads to some amusing images and sales pitches, not really belly-laugh material for me, and not as funny as, say, cute kittens, because many of the people posting these items are really rather sad. You might smile, but still feel a surge of sympathy for anyone who truly feels you'd like to own, oh, a bucket of beer bottle caps, or a used coffin (makes a great motorcycle trailer). It's not the situations you're laughing at, it's the people, and I'm not entirely comfortable poking fun at people who aren't in a position to defend themselves. What also spoils it for me is that the site's editors expand on the visual gags with their own additional jokes and explanations. Sorry guys, but if the content is funny enough, I'll laugh without being told why I should be laughing. I'm not challenging your talents as writers, it's just that I personally think the extra comments are superfluous. I suspect this is actually quite a good idea, in that the millions of Craigslist ads must harbor at least a few hundred real stinkers. There's probably more than enough material for a sociology thesis amongst this lot. But I think it needs careful handling, so that it isn't simply poking fun at Craigslist users just for the sake of it. Oh, btw you'll find loads of fan email on the site, so it's hitting the spot for many people. It just didn't quite hit the spot for me.